oxytocin spray to stimulate let down?

[crazy88]

Background in brief : I cannot stimulate a letdown on my left hand side due to nerve damage on that side from breast surgery. Right hand side is fine. I have tried all the advice on kellymom about using prompts but it's not working. I have been managing by triggering let down on my right and then switching baby over to left once the milk is flowing but my supply is diminishing and it's a bit of a faff, esp in public. Also he seems to want both sides now so I have to always start him off on the left and I am worried that this will impact on my supply on my right Baby is 13 weeks old now.

I happened to find in an old 1980's Great Ormond Street baby care book some advice saying that you could get a nasal spray of oxytocin from the GP that would trigger let down, has anyone heard of this? I will try anything, I really don't want to give up bf but am feeling like I am running out of ideas.

There was a study done in 2005 into the efficacy of oxytocin sprays use in bfing [[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672698/?tool=pmcentrez here]. It found no difference between the two groups (double blind & randomised trial). Sorry, I wish it could have been an easy answer.

It is possible to feed one sided (mothers with twins do this) so perhaps using breast compressions to help the milk to be removed by baby on the right side would help until your supply in the right side increased.

You could try talking through your options with a Bfing Counsellor or an IBCLC in your area? They would know what they were talking about a lot more than me!

Might have known there wouldn't be an easy answer. I have tried just feeding off the right side but he squirms and fusses as soon as the flow slows down and then I can't get anything out of the left without another let down, which I can't always get .

Having read that link though, it might still be worth a shot as the study is looking at the effect of oxytocin on volume of milk produced when expressing whereas I just need something to trigger an initial letdown and then I can work on supply. Do you know if it is available on prescription? I did a quick google search and it seems there are other dodgier applications

That's the trouble with the internet it always reverts to the lowest common denominator

I guess this is what you have been trying?

Does pumping on the right while nursing on the left help stimulate a left down? It's the only thing I can think of that's not on Kellymom's list (and it is a very extensive list of things to try!)

i did think of that but can't seem to hand express and not sure I can juggle a pump and a baby simultaneously, esp such a wriggler! also that would still be triggering letdown on the right and really I just want my left to work as I think (not sure though) that unless it does I will still be looking at diminishing supply?

Think I need to do some more investigation.

thanks by the way! love mumsnet.

Sometimes pumping/nursing helps increase let down much like tandem nursing. I know when I nursed DD1 & DD2 together (20m age gap between them) that DD1 really enjoyed the extra milk for less work thing, whereas DD2 preferred nursing alone (due to the extra let down!).

Also, for mums that struggle to let down for a pump, an often used 'trick' is to pump (usually electric so you don't have to fiddle about with a manual) while baby feeds on the other side. I just wondered if it maybe worked in reverse (i.e. stimulate a let down in the right to 'piggyback' a let down in the left).

I hope any of that made sense!

I love MN too! Been a source of great help to me over the past few years